Chrysler has recently announced that their next generation Dodge Viper will debut next year. At one point it was thought that production of the Viper was done for good, so such an early return is a welcomed surprise. While details are sparse at the moment, as expected, we do know that the new Viper will feature electronic stability control for the first time. However, don’t assume that this means the Viper is going soft. It’s a rather safe bet that the driver will have the ability to turn off all of the electronic nannies at his own discretion.

The only significant knock against previous Vipers is that it did not make for the ideal daily driver. With the size and power of the vehicle many reviewers deemed it fun, but very demanding. Thus, most Viper owners used it as a cruiser, or weekend track warrior. With the addition of stability control the Viper should become somewhat more streetable and present more value to its owners, while still maintaining the aggressive demeanor that it’s known for.

There’s also been some speculation that Fiat plans to incorporate components from its Italian supercars into the new Viper. Of course, that’s not official at the moment, but I’m sure fans of the Viper are keeping their fingers crossed that the next generation version stays true to its pure American muscle car heritage.

Press Release:

The long, cold and snowy winter presented a perfect environment for the ultimate American-built sports car and icon of the Dodge brand’s performance car lineup to prepare for its imminent return. Using a 2010 chassis as a test subject, SRT engineers expanded the development scope for the next generation Dodge Viper to include stability control tuning for the first time. The development comes just in time for the next “Super Car Olympics,” sure to take place late in 2012 when the all-new performance icon returns.